Nothing fancy Unfussy food for having people over

Review by Booklist Review

New York Times cooking columnist Roman (Dining In, 2017) clarifies at the start that this isn't an ""entertaining"" cookbook but a guide to ""just making dinner, but, you know, with more people."" Narrative spreads on topics like the perfect cheese plate (""my only word of advice is: Please relax"") and her love for humble foods like anchovies, beans, and steamed broccoli break up the 100-plus inventive, free-form recipes, which cover snacks, salads, sides, mains (meat, fish, and veg), and dessert and emphasize seasonal, well-balanced flavors (think salt-fat-acid). Some examples: crushed peas with burrata and olives, one-pot chicken with dates and caramelized lemon. The one-to-two page recipes generally serve 4-8 diners, and many include notes for working ahead and pairing dishes. Where cooks might need a boost (cooking a whole fish, carving a chicken), Roman provides motivating instruction. The author's informal, funny voice comes across strongly, making her notes a real pleasure to read, and her theme see note above about relaxing carries the collection through to a reminder about remaining calm, and maybe even having fun with the end-of-meal clean-up. Perhaps not a capital-E entertaining manual, but a fresh, downright-festive encouragement to make and enjoy good food with good people.--Annie Bostrom Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Roman is an Instagram star who writes for the New York Times and Bon Appétit, and in this cheeky, entertaining primer, her tone sometimes verges on the frantic: she's fond of writing in all caps, making ironic pronouncements ("I'm just going to live my truth"), and incorporating internet lingo ("Thank you for coming to my TED Talk"). There are clever turns of phrase (escarole is a "gateway chicory"; seasoning chicken in advance is "a casual brine"), but sometimes the prose loops the loop so many times that it becomes tautological, as when she declares that martinis shouldn't be considered "extremely and exclusively fancy." (Why? Because she 'says so.) The language in the instructions themselves is not exactly Escoffier-worthy: "Knock yourself out with your decorative prowess" when scoring eggplant for roast, and spread yogurt on leg of lamb "as if you were applying a mud mask." On the practical side, each recipe includes instructions for preparing ahead, and mostly simple desserts include a double-crust "galette" with sour cherries and tahini, and a turmeric-tinted loaf cake. Aimed at millennials, the recipes here are fun and enticing. (Oct.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by Library Journal Review

New York Times food columnist and Instagram star Roman, perhaps best known for her viral salted chocolate chunk shortbread cookie recipe, delivers a fun and practical twist on "having people over" (don't call it entertaining). Roman provides readers with simple and attainable recipes perfect for casual social occasions, from a DIY Martini Bar and a "not-crudite" platter to easy roast meats and lemony turmeric tea cake. Although there are some vegetarian, vegan, and "accidentally" gluten-free offerings, Roman makes room for dishes with butter, cheese, and tinned fish as well. Many recipes contain ingenious culinary nuggets: the "reverse sear" for slow-cooked cuts of meat, or roasted butternut squash with the seeds left in for extra crunch and a toasty flavor. Roman's trademark wit shines through in breezy, opinionated asides ("a formal apology to leeks"), while stylish photography and a refreshing design lend an up-to-the-minute feel to a cookbook with all the makings of a contemporary classic. VERDICT If Roman's wildly popular first cookbook, Dining In, is any indication, this title will be in high demand; recommended as a first purchase.--Kelsy Peterson, Forest Hill Coll., Melbourne, Australia

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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This is not a book about entertaining. "Roasting a nice chicken for people is such a good way to say, 'I love you.'" I recently found this note to myself scrawled on the back of an electrical bill I had probably forgotten to pay, written one night after a dinner party. There was likely a lot of wine that night (the best ideas always come from a lot of wine), which explains my poor penmanship and well-intentioned (but fragmented) deep chicken thought.  Not exactly poetry, but I realized after reading it that it was the first time I articulated exactly what I wanted this book to be about it and what I want you to get out of it: Using your time and resources to feed people you care about is the ultimate expression of love. And love is about expressing joy, not producing anxiety, so the other thing I want you to get out of it is: You can do this. I have always been allergic to the word "entertaining," which to me implies there's a show, something performative at best and inauthentic at worst. But having people over? Well, that's just making dinner, but you know, with more people. Unfussy food, unfussy vibes and the permission to be imperfect, no occasion necessary (other than to eat, of course).  For anyone looking for tips on how to fold linen napkins or create floral arrangements, I am not your girl. I don't have any clever hosting tips, and I will not teach you the secrets to mood lighting. (I told you, this is not an entertaining book, but also: candles!) But I will give you low-stress and high-impact recipes and ideas designed to make your life easier when cooking for others. Colorful platters of vegetables doused in crispy crunchy bits, casually roasted meat scattered with herbs, one-bowl just-sweet-enough desserts.  This book is organized by how I like to put together most meals, broken up by what I think are the five most important parts: snacks, salads, sides, mains, and sweet things. Not to say all categories must be represented to have a complete experience, but using that framework is a good place to start.  Most of the recipes serve 4 to 6 people and are designed to be doubled easily. If you're cooking for fewer than four, well then consider the bounty a gift to your future self in the form of leftovers. There are carefully considered do-aheads (my favorite phrase) and ideas for what goes with what, although I will say most things in this book would be so happy served next to one another (I find the concept of menus to be both inspiring and creatively stifling, so consider this my compromise). It's a book with a true choose-your-own-adventure spirit, encouraging you to make as many or as few of the dishes as you wish. This is not about living an aspirational life; it's about living an attainable one. You know, the one that comes with not really having enough time to braise a whole pot of short ribs before people arrive (but you try anyway), accidentally burnt cakes (just cut those parts off), and not enough chairs to seat everyone at once (sit on the floor?). It's the life we live, it's messy as hell, it's nothing fancy--I'm sure you wouldn't want it any other way. Three Helpful Things 1. Ask for help "Asking for help is not a weakness, it's a strength." --me to myself every time I cook for others If you're a control freak like me, delegating does not come easily. But come to think of your guests as contributors and collaborators and you'll notice everyone loosen up, things happen more quickly, and the whole vibe gets significantly more fun. Asking guests to participate by picking the stems from herbs, mixing a yogurt sauce, or slicing vegetables is a small but significant way to ease the load.  2. Pick your battles One of the most common questions I get is "How do I make sure everything is hot when I serve dinner?" My answer is always: You don't. Trying to make sure everything is pipinghot is a fool's errand, and one I refuse to participate in. Unless you're living an exclusively soup-and-stew lifestyle, there is no reason every dish on your table needs to be hot. If you are serving a pasta that should be, then guess what, you're getting a side of blanched and room-temp broccoli. If that stewed pork with kimchi needs to be piping-hot, then everything else has been made hours ago and stored in the fridge, probably. Pick your battles. Serving different foods that all need to be hot at the same time should not be one of them.  3. Never apologize Having people over means never having to say you're sorry. Not for your mismatched plates or the fact that you don't own any "real" wineglasses or the fact that dinner is actually being served closer to 9:30 than the hoped-for 7:30 (just make sure there are snacks). Embrace the quirky imperfections that make dinner at your house special and different. It's not a restaurant--you shouldn't feel pressure to make it feel like one. Excerpted from Nothing Fancy: Unfussy Food for Having People Over by Alison Roman All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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